Protestantism

» pink101 - The Ultimate Gift

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In the final analysis, we come to the place where we are forced to accept the fact that each one of us starts out with a blank slate.
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From that point forward, it should be fairly easy to describe the steps that are bringing us to develop in our growth to be who it is that we are becoming.
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That is the active way of looking at existentialism if I do say so myself.
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And I do.
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We are--each one of us--turning into the person who it is that we are coming to be.
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Sort of a hard concept to put into simplified words. Not yet, anyway.
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Ideas develop in a processional way. Some ideas are thousands of years old. Can you imagine changing them in a single lifetime? Can you imagine the struggle that ideas might have when they are only a few hundred years or so old or even younger. The idea that the Bible is the authoritative "Word of God" is going on 1650 years old or so. That's a tough one to overcome in the pathway along which we exist as we move toward our destiny. We want our destiny to be the best it can be not only in some far off supernatural place; but in the here and in the now. Life is precious.
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It is the ultimate gift.
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Can you imagine?
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-- posted by pink101

» _Boanerges_ - The Ultimate Gift

In response to The Ultimate Gift posted by pink101:

That's a tough one to overcome in the pathway along which we exist as we move toward our destiny

I believe this is the attribution given by God Himself...

It seems much more plausible to me that, if God existed, then He would certainly want to communicate with us, and to relate to us. I find it thoroughly possible that such a God would exist - does exist...

I am.. what I have become. all we have is now.. so. with now, all you have is - what you are....

I live in the here and now.. a brief glimpse at what eternity may look like..

-- posted by _Boanerges_

» pink101 - Life Is The Ultimate Gift

In response to The Ultimate Gift posted by _Boanerges_:
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My sense is that we are in eternity and in the moment. We have eternity--it is here, now.
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Yes, we are who it is that we have become and that relates to the I and the me about which I spoke in some early post. I am the one who moves into the future and experiences the self in the now. The me is the one that was the I and now exists in the past--just a split second ago.
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Just as I am what I have become, what I am at the moment leads me to be the one I am becoming. So, I am constantly evolving in a way towards the future. What ever I do to improve my experience carries a great value to me. I accept change with open arms.
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-- posted by pink101

» pink101 - Society

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Can anyone give a concise definition of what society is that you think gives it the cohesion that makes things work as well as they do?
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This question is probably much more to the point of our discussions than any thinks it might be.
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-- posted by pink101

» pink101 - Society

In response to Society posted by pink101:

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Whoa!
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Don't all start responding at once.
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-- posted by pink101

» pink101 - Have You Noticed

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As a related question, have you noticed that President G. W. Bush operates from a position of power rather than from one of authority? Power coerces the masses to comply. Don't you think Bush and his handlers know that? We are having their policies forced down our throats if we like it or not. Some of us like it. I don't!
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This is a significant point regarding the make up of society.
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When a demagogic person or group operates from a position of power, there is an attempt to create an equal and opposite force that aspires to power of its own. This can lead to productivity and growth in society. Or--it can be destructive as was the case with Nazi Germany. Other societies can take advantage of the situation and take the power over like the Allies did in World War II..
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We all have a role to play by just developing our understandings so others can learn from us. This IS a democracy and we have power if we will exercise it. But, exercise can take great effort. Some people will call you a nut.
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-- posted by pink101

» pink101 - Legitimate Authority of Government

In response to Have You Noticed posted by pink101:
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The legitimate authority of government in a democratic society is derived from the consent of the people.
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But, some people of politics see their ascendancy to positions of authority as license to exercise their personal power during their tenure of office. Such a person is George W. Bush who uses his authority as president to exercise his personal power over those he defeated.in his run for office. Whereas LEGITIMATE authority puts leaders of a democratic society in a position of representing a unified electorate, our present president has used his authority as a stepping off place to accumulate power with which he divides our nation; thus creating factions. And, he is taking us in a direction toward demagogic fascism. And that makes his political base very happy because they believe in the right of power to dominate. They ARE the Christian right.
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-- posted by pink101

» pink101 - Zero Sum Use

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The way George W. Bush exercises his office has been referred to as Zero Sum Use of authority by some social scientists. It is said that it creates its own opposition and that can be seen so obviously in the way our nation's incursions into the Middle East are creating a powerful opposition against us. There is only one way such a force can maintain their balance of power and that is to totally subdue their opposition. In other words, the route Bush is taking will lead to a totalitarian government in the United States. So, an equal and opposite force is built up against it and the result is a zero sum. No body wins and everyone loses.
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I see it as a major problem of unbridled capitalism.

-- posted by pink101

» _Boanerges_ - How Odin Became Santa Claus

Symbolism and Pagan Origins of a Gift-Giving Saint
by Anja Heij
http://www.realmagick.com/articles/14/20...

-- posted by _Boanerges_

» pink101 - Ruling Class

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There is a theory that claims there is--really--only one class is society, the ruling class. And, the rest of society is made up of the masses that have no class.
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Class requires some sort of organized behavior and communication. The masses are unable to organize and are divided into the "rest of society".
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So, how does societal change come about? There are different forces within the ruling class. All social change comes about as a result of changes within the ruling class.
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What sort of change do you think is coming about in the present day ruling class of American society? Is it not in a retrograde movement toward a more and more conservative stance against the masses? It is moving to take our government over through a privatizing process so that the wealthy can suck more and more of our life's blood away from us. And, the church is in complicity with it.
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-- posted by pink101